Former national security adviser Susan Rice slammed President Donald Trump for storing the notes from his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a top-secret server — then admitted the Obama administration stored communications on the same server.
Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Rice tore into the Trump administration for “unprecedented” actions, claiming officials have attempted to “bury” information.
“What [the Trump administration] did instead of storing it in the normal system, which is protected and classified, even though there was no classified substance in that actual discussion,” Rice said. “Instead of putting it where it normally resides, they hid it on a very highly sensitive, highly compartmented server that very few people in the U.S. government have access to in order to bury it.”
Then Rice was asked by the moderator how often the Obama administration did what she is criticizing the Trump administration for doing.
“We never moved them over unless they were legitimately, in the contents, classified,” she admitted
.@AmbassadorRice: “Normally there is a full, verbatim transcript” of calls like Trump’s w/ the Ukraine president.
Says he tried to “bury” it on a more secure server, but acknowledges the Obama Admin. sometimes did the same. pic.twitter.com/B6zZNbZsTG
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/the-obamas-potus-3.jpg536800Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-29 15:33:242019-09-29 15:30:52WATCH: Susan Rice Blasts Trump for Keeping Transcript on Top-Secret Server — Then Admits Obama Did the Same
Economist and New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman suggested Friday evening that either “thousands of journalists” will be imprisoned because of the administration or President Donald Trump will end up in jail.
A formal impeachment inquiry was launched Tuesday after news that Trump had asked Ukrainian officials to look into Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter regarding business dealings in the country. The transcript of this phone call was held in a special computer system for sensitive calls, according to the NYT.
The White House restricted access to other phone calls between Trump and foreign leaders, CNN reported Friday evening. Following this news, Krugman tweeted that there seemed to be “two possible outcomes.” . . .
Starting to look like two possible outcomes: Trump and a number of others end up in jail, or thousands of journalists end up in prison camps https://t.co/I9DpBQFwtm
Krugman did not follow up his tweet with reasons as to how “thousands of journalists” would become imprisoned if Trump doesn’t spend time behind bars. (Read more from “NYT Columnist: Either Trump Goes to Jail or ‘Thousands of Journalists’ Will End up in Prison Camps” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/The_New_York_Times_building_-_panoramio.jpg9601280Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-29 15:28:362019-09-30 05:44:55NYT Columnist: Either Trump Goes to Jail or ‘Thousands of Journalists’ Will End up in Prison Camps
I know we’ve repeated this line, but let’s recap again. House Democrats decided to get the impeachment circus going based on an anonymous whistleblower complaint that alleged President Trump shook down the Ukrainian political leadership by withholding military aid unless they opened a corruption probe into Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden. The quid pro quo allegations spread like Ebola and the Democrats are now moving forward with their three-year-long project: impeaching President Trump for…winning the 2016 election. Did the person, who is reportedly a CIA agent, listen in on the July call where this mob-like shakedown occurred? No. He heard it from second and third-hand sources, hence why it’s loaded with errors. The media reporting drummed it up as Watergate 5.0. It was another nothing burger. There was no quid pro quo. There was nothing illegal.
At a minimum, the complaint contains numerous factual errors, which is unsurprising since it was not first-hand information. https://t.co/FZ4zPMF2bU
Well, you’d think that actual witnesses to activities that deem unethical would be the benchmark for reports like this, especially ones that will be used to impeach a president, right? A first-hand account is one thing, but this complaint is certainly not that. And it seems like the intelligence community secretly removed the direct, first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing requirement. Sean Davis of The Federalist has more:
Between May 2018 and August 2019, the intelligence community secretly eliminated a requirement that whistleblowers provide direct, first-hand knowledge of alleged wrongdoings. This raises questions about the intelligence community’s behavior regarding the August submission of a whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump. The new complaint document no longer requires potential whistleblowers who wish to have their concerns expedited to Congress to have direct, first-hand knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing that they are reporting.
The brand new version of the whistleblower complaint form, which was not made public until after the transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and the complaint addressed to Congress were made public, eliminates the first-hand knowledge requirement and allows employees to file whistleblower complaints even if they have zero direct knowledge of underlying evidence and only “heard about [wrongdoing] from others.”
If this isn't a giveaway about the operation that was being run, I don't know what is. https://t.co/cRTaMEwr5h
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/32295251244_f540913634_b-2.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-27 21:38:412019-09-27 21:35:30The Intelligence Community Secretly Removed the First-Hand Knowledge of Wrongdoing Requirement for Whistleblower Reports
By LA Times. President Trump expressed disgust Thursday morning with the explosive whistleblower complaint, slamming the intelligence officer and the White House aides who helped him as “almost a spy” and suggested it was treason.
Speaking at a private event with U.S. diplomatic officials in New York, Trump described reporters as “scum” and raged at the Democrats’ new impeachment proceedings, which were spurred by the whistleblower’s complaint alleging that Trump tried to strong-arm Ukraine’s leader to interfere in the 2020 election.
The still-unidentified intelligence officer acknowledged that he did not listen to Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but cited accounts from more than half a dozen White House and other officials over the last four months as part of “official interagency business.”
“Basically, that person never saw the report, never saw the call, he never saw the call — heard something and decided that he or she, or whoever the hell they saw — they’re almost a spy,” Trump said.
“I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” he continued. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” (Read more from “Trump: CIA Whistleblower Committed Treason” HERE)
DEEP STATE: Reports Point to the Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower Being a CIA Agent
By Townhall. So, who is this Trump-Ukraine whistleblower? Yes, the identities of whistleblowers are protected, but we all know pieces about who these folks are trickles down to the press. This is the Trump White House. The liberal media hates the president. They will do anything to destroy him, even outing the identity of the CIA agent. The New York Times reported that three anonymous sources told them the whistleblower is a member of The Company, though of course, Langley didn’t comment and the legal team for this person said such reporting was “dangerous.” This agent was assigned to the White House (via NYT) [emphasis mine]:
The whistle-blower who revealed that President Trump sought foreign help for his re-election and that the White House sought to cover it up is a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to work at the White House at one point, according to three people familiar with his identity.
The man has since returned to the C.I.A., the people said. Little else is known about him. His complaint made public Thursday suggested he was an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of Ukrainian politics and at least some knowledge of the law.
The whistle-blower’s expertise will likely add to lawmakers’ confidence about the merits of his complaint, and tamp down allegations that he might have misunderstood what he learned about Mr. Trump. He did not listen directly to a July call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that is at the center of the political firestorm over the president’s mixing of diplomacy with personal political gain.
(Read more from “Deep State: Reports Point to the Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower Being a CIA Agent” HERE)
By Fox News. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has taken aim at the unnamed “leaker” who raised concerns about President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Conway said whoever it was who proceeded to share information with the intelligence community whistleblower whose complaint led to the current firestorm was hopefully tuned in to “The Story” when she appeared on Thursday evening.
“The whistleblower is someone who does not have firsthand knowledge of what happened,” she said, calling the individual “more blowhard than whistleblower.”
“I don’t consider them to be spies, but anybody who leaks conversations that are classified or are of national security sensitivity ought not to be working in the government — whoever you are — and I hope you’re watching, whoever you are.”
Conway continued to slam the anonymous person who was the purported conduit connecting the details of the phone call with the whistleblower. (Read more from “Kellyanne Conway Blasts Ukraine Call ‘Leaker’: ‘I Hope You’re Watching'” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/48795661648_1030e2315f_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-26 20:33:162019-09-28 23:08:59Trump: CIA Whistleblower Committed Treason (AUDIO); DEEP STATE: Reports Point to the Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower Being a CIA Agent
By Newsweek. Prominent GOP consultant Mike Murphy claimed on Wednesday that he was told by a Republican senator that the majority of Republican senators “would vote to impeach” President Donald Trump if they could do so anonymously.
“These Senate Republicans, should the Democrats vote impeachment, which is far more likely than not, are going to be pinned down to a yes/no answer,” Murphy, who previously advised Republican politicians including Mitt Romney, John McCain and Jeb Bush, said in an interview with MSNBC.
“The politics of it will get worse and worse for Trump,” the Republican political consultant, who has long been critical of Trump, said.
“One Republican senator told me if it was a secret vote, 30 Republican senators would vote to impeach Trump,” he claimed, suggesting that the GOP lawmakers are concerned that voting against the president could harm them politically. The Senate is currently controlled by Republicans, with 53 GOP lawmakers serving in the legislative body. (Read more from “GOP Consultant: ’30 Republican Senators Would Vote to Impeach Trump’ If Vote Was Secret” HERE)
Two Republican Governors Say They Support Impeachment Inquiry of Trump
By The Washington Post. For the first time, two Republican governors have publicly supported the impeachment inquiry of President Trump, a new development in an intensifying political fracas that has so far been largely partisan.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, both outspoken critics of Trump from the Northeast, said Thursday they favored the investigation, but Scott added that he would wait for more information before calling for further action against the president.
In a statement to The Washington Post, Scott called the inquiry “appropriate” and said it is a key part of Congress’s duty as a co-equal branch of government. (Read more from “Two Republican Governors Say They Support Impeachment Inquiry of Trump” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/48799613783_a22c1c3151_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-26 20:08:112019-09-26 20:06:06GOP Consultant: ’30 Republican Senators Would Vote to Impeach Trump’ If Vote Was Secret; Republican Governors Reveal Support for Trump Impeachment Inquiry
By Daily Wire. Less than 24 hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) formally ordered an impeachment inquiry amid reports that President Trump “pressured” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden for his role in the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his son, the Trump administration released the partial transcript of the phone call at the center of the latest scandal. Shortly after releasing the transcript, Trump made televised comments taunting the “fake news media” for overhyping the “call from hell,” which prompted an outcry from some reporters in the room.
“It’s the single greatest witch hunt in American history,” said Trump, adding that the current scandal is “a disgraceful thing.” Referencing “the letter,” by which he clarifies that he means the transcript of the call, Trump says its release was done “at the insistence of myself and other people that read it.”
“It was a friendly letter, there was no pressure,” he said. “The way you had that built up, that call, it was going to be the call from hell. It turned out to be a nothing call — other than a lot of people said, ‘I never knew you could be so nice.’”
“So, part of the problem you have is you have the fake news, you have a lot of corrupt reporting,” the president opined. “You have some very fine reporters and journalists, but you have a lot of corrupt reporters, a lot of corrupt journalists.”
“I would rake you right in there, by the way,” he said, gesturing to some in the room, a move that sparked loud pushback from reporters. (Read more from “Watch: Trump Taunts Media Over Released Transcript” HERE)
Ukraine Call Transcript Shows Trump Sought Biden Probe, Asked About DNC Server – but Made No Mention of U.S. Aid
By Fox News. The White House on Wednesday released a transcript of President Trump’s July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showing he sought a review of Biden family dealings in the country — but the document does not show Trump explicitly leveraging military aid as part of a quid pro quo, as Democrats have suggested in pressing forward with impeachment.
The document, declassified by Trump a day earlier, indicates that the call – which Trump made from the White House residence — took place July 25 from 9:03 a.m. to 9:33 a.m. A notation on the memo says it does not represent a “verbatim transcript” but is based on “notes and recollections” of those listening and memorializing the call. It is still presented in transcript form.
The memo begins with the president congratulating Zelensky on his election victory, before Trump eventually broaches the subject former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. . .
On Monday, it was reported that Trump had even ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before the phone call with Zelensky, a detail that fueled impeachment calls and led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to announce a formal impeachment inquiry Tuesday. But the call transcript does not show Trump explicitly mentioning the aid as a bargaining chip or otherwise — though Zelensky did appear to reference military aid early in the call, when he thanked Trump for “great support in the area of defense.” . . .
The transcript shows Zelensky eventually suggesting to Trump the Biden matter would be looked into by a new prosecutor. “He or she will look into the situation specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue, the issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and we will work on the investigation of the case.” (Read more from “Ukraine Call Transcript Shows Trump Sought Biden Probe, Asked About Dnc Server – but Made No Mention of U.S. Aid” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/30291415497_79d852de6f_b-2.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-25 20:44:482019-09-28 23:10:53WATCH: Trump Taunts Media Over Released Transcript; Here’s What the Ukraine Call Transcript Revealed
President Trump’s campaign announced on Wednesday that it – along with the Republican National Committee – raised $5 million in the 24 hours following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) formal announcement of an impeachment inquiry.
“In the 24 hours since news of Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment announcement, @realDonaldTrump’s campaign & @GOP have BLOWN OUT fundraising!” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale announced on Twitter. . .
In the 24 hours since news of Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment announcement, @realDonaldTrump’s campaign & @GOP have BLOWN OUT fundraising!
✅$5 Million combined in 24 hrs ✅Donors in all 50 states
Huge groundswell of support leading to Trump landslide in 2020!
The news comes prior to a Manhattan fundraiser slated for Wednesday evening, which is expected to result in $5 million more for Trump’s reelection campaign. RNC chief of staff Richard Walters confirmed that the Trump campaign and GOP have raised $30 million in the last week thanks to “Hollywood extremists and the continued witch hunt being led by deranged Dems in the House”:
….and campaign says it has raised $5 mill in last 24 hours. That get close to $30 mill between campaign and RNC in a week.
.@TeamTrump and @GOP raised nearly $30M in last week because of Hollywood extremists and the continued witch hunt being led by deranged Dems in the House.
For the second time, the United States Senate has voted to end President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration regarding the southern border with a 54-vote majority.
While 11 Republicans joined with the chamber’s Democrats in voting to terminate the state of emergency, the measure failed to gain the two-thirds majority necessary to be veto proof.
Senate votes again to END Trump's emergency border declaration.
11 Republicans voted in favor of the measure:
Alexander Blunt Collins Lee Murkowski Moran Paul Portman Romney Toomey Wicker
One of the Republicans who voted to end the declaration, Mike Lee (Utah) later was quoted as saying, “Congress is supposed to be the first among the federal government’s three co-equal branches. For decades, Congress has been giving far too much legislative power to the executive branch.”
The Senate also voted to end the emergency declaration in March, but that effort failed to overcome the president’s veto. Then, 12 Republicans voted against the declaration. That dozen included Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who didn’t vote on Wednesday.
President Trump’s national emergency declaration, which he issued in February at the conclusion of a government shutdown, has allowed the administration to redirect Pentagon funds in order to construct physical security along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Supreme Court undid a lower court injunction blocking the administration from doing so in July.
The redirection of those federal monies, however, has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks after the Pentagon announced that $3.6 billion in funds would be cut from various D0D construction projects and used instead for border security.
“A vote for the president today is a vote in favor of cutting money for our military and slashing support for critical military projects in red states as well as blue,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who pledged to force the vote earlier this week, said Wednesday.
Under the National Emergencies Act, Democrats are able to force votes to end the emergency declaration every six months.
During his remarks Wednesday from the Senate floor, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dismissed the effort as a “show vote” forced by chamber Democrats.
“Unwilling to work with the president and Senate Republicans on a long-term bipartisan solution for border security, Senate Democrats are making us repeat the same show vote again,” McConnell said, urging his fellow Republicans to vote against the resolution.
“It is shameful that our lawmakers have refused to act to fix the [border] crisis,” Heritage Action executive director Tim Chapman told Blaze Media after the vote, “and today’s Senate vote to overturn the President’s declaration has endangered our nation and prevented our law enforcement from doing its job.” (For more from the author of “Senate Votes Again to End Trump’s Emergency Border Declaration” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/46451130962_d151b497d6_b-3.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-25 20:28:502019-09-25 20:25:49Senate Votes Again to End Trump’s Emergency Border Declaration
The Trump campaign is celebrating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Tuesday evening to open an “impeachment inquiry” into President Trump.
“Democrats can’t beat President Trump on his policies or his stellar record of accomplishment, so they’re trying to turn a Joe Biden scandal into a Trump problem. The misguided Democrat impeachment strategy is meant to appease their rabid, extreme, leftist base, but will only serve to embolden and energize President Trump’s supporters and create a landslide victory for the President,” the Trump campaign released in a statement.
Democrats have officially paved the way for a @realDonaldTrump landslide victory. The witch-hunt continues…
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/30354690690_245f7ec0b3_b.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2019-09-24 20:01:282019-09-28 23:12:03Trump Campaign Celebrates Impeachment: Thank You Democrats, You Just Re-Elected POTUS With a Landslide
By Townhall. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is formally signing off on an impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump after he spoke to the Ukrainians, reportedly trying to coerce the political leadership there to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden on corruption charges. This was dredged up after a whistleblower came forward to the intelligence community inspector general, though it’s based on anonymous second-hand sources. The whistleblower didn’t even listen in on the calls, and it’s not the intelligence community’s job to snitch on the president. The president can say whatever he wants to another foreign leader. Period. And now, before anyone has read the transcript of the call, the House Democrats are launching a full-blown impeachment push. It’s not shocking. This was going to happen eventually. They had to do this; this is why the Democrats retook the House in 2018. So, fix bayonets, everyone. This is going to get bloody[.]
PELOSI in the closed dem caucus meeting: this is a “moment of truth”
It’s a great idea to plunge the country into the impeachment abyss without even first having seen the transcript of the alleged impeachable conduct. This will go really well
By CBS News. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House is launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, setting up a dramatic constitutional clash just over a year before the presidential election.
“Today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry,” Pelosi said at the Capitol late Tuesday afternoon. The inquiry marks just the fourth time in American history a president has faced a viable threat of impeachment. . .
“This week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically,” Pelosi said. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.” (Read more from “Pelosi Launches Formal Trump Impeachment Inquiry” HERE)
